Johnson style rings a Bell

MICHAEL Johnson has shrugged off premature comparisons with 'King' Colin Bell with the same kind of adroitness that leaves toiling defenders trailing in his wake. But the teenager - who has yet to reach 20 top-flight games - admits he is flattered to be mentioned in the same breath as the Blues legend.

MICHAEL Johnson has shrugged off premature comparisons with 'King' Colin Bell with the same kind of adroitness that leaves toiling defenders trailing in his wake.

But the teenager - who has yet to reach 20 top-flight games - admits he is flattered to be mentioned in the same breath as the Blues legend.

The shock of blonde hair and the lung-bursting runs from midfield, topped off with some clinical finishing, have led more than one commentator to compare the pair.

At the age of 19, Bell had been learning his trade at Bury for two seasons and was poised for his big move to Maine Road, whereas Johnson has come straight through the ranks.

"I never saw Colin play, but obviously I know he was a great player and that he has a stand named after him at our ground," Johnson said.

Compliment

"The main thing for me now is to keep my feet on the ground and take each game as it comes. To be compared with Colin is a great compliment."

Now an avid spectator, Bell has seen for himself what all the fuss is about concerning the young midfielder and the mutual admiration is clear.

"I must admit I thought to myself that he has a look of me," he said. "He is learning his trade very well, just like the four or five youngsters coming through. They are gaining experience all the time and the future looks bright."

Johnson is currently joint top of the Blues scoring charts, and has set his sights on adding more to the pair he has bagged so far.

Given that boss Sven-Goran Eriksson is playing with five in midfield and one up front, Johnson knows it is vital that he and his colleagues in the middle chip in with as many goals as possible.

Johnson is doing his bit, with a winner against Derby last month and another to see off Aston Villa on Sunday.

Improvement

"It's only two, but I will be looking to get a few more this season," he said. "I could have a had a hat-trick against Villa.

"I feel as though I am improving all the time. We have better players this season and it rubs off.

"Elano is a great player and he set me up against Derby too. If you make the runs, then he has the ability to find you. It is important that all of the team weigh in with goals whenever we can. I have not set any targets as far as goals are concerned, but 10 is a nice round number!

"The fact that Didi Hamann is such a superb player and can receive the ball off the back four and distribute it gives me a license to go forward and look for goals."

Footballers were clearly not at the forefront of Rudyard Kipling's thinking when he wrote his epic poem `If', but Urmston born Johnson's temperament is such that it may have been penned with him in mind. Few players keep their head so well when all about them are losing theirs.

Even the wonderfully phlegmatic Swede Eriksson admits that he has been impressed with the calmness shown on and off the pitch by the England Under-21 international. Despite the ice-cool exterior, there is though a fire burning within the Academy product who wastes words as infrequently as he gives the ball away.

Evidence of the 19-year-old's more tempestuous side came in the defeat at Blackburn, when he was hauled off after half-an-hour and tossed his shirt away in disappointment when he reached the dugout.

Eriksson admits he doesn't mind such shows of passion.

"Michael was disappointed at Ewood Park to be taken off and I understand that," said the boss. "It was something that we never discussed again. We needed to make a tactical change and that was what I did.

"He reacted in training the way I wanted him to; he has trained and worked hard. We need goals from midfield if we are going to go on playing like we are doing."